Farmer-Led Research
Research reports are written by Practical Farmers staff to ensure consistency and quality, and are available to view or download for free.
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In this comparison using Farmstead Health Supply’s Restore and Sustain as the herbal wormer and Ivomec pour-on as the chemical wormer, the chemical wormer showed a marked reduction in fecal egg count in four of the six does, …
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE SUPPORTERS HAVE QUESTIONED THE USE OF ACID, SALT BASE FERTILIZERS. FOOD GRADE FERTILIZERS HAVE LOWER SALT LEVEL AND LESS ACID CONTENT WHICH SHOULD BE LESS HARMFUL TO SOIL LIFE. THE CONCERN ABOUT FOOD GRADE MATERIALS IS …
USDA/ARS entomologists working at ISU have carried out on-farm research with PFI for three years, testing a biological control for the European corn borer. This potential control is a fungus, Beauveria bassiana, that is already present in Iowa …
Gary and Nancy Guthrie, Nevada, joined the ranks of PFI cooperators in 1998, carrying out a trial that relates to sweetcorn production. The corn earworm typically plagues growers, especially those who do not use insecticides. It crawls into …
Back in northwest Iowa, Dan and Lorna Wilson and Colin and Carla Wilson want to know how to use the manure and bedding that come out of their swine hoophouse and Swedish-style nursery facility. The nutrients in this …
Dennis and Eve Abbas, Hampton, asked a question pertinent to their organic farming operation. Like the previous trials it relates to nitrogen, although at first glance it may appear to be a population study. On the Abbas farm, …
Nowadays the choice of crop varieties is a decision that reflects not only potential yield but also stress tolerance, genetic technologies and their associated fees and restrictions, and even marketing to various identity-preserved niches. The Dordt College Agriculture …
Tom and Irene Frantzen, Alta Vista, obtained a SARE Producer Grant to investigate methods of quackgrass suppression. Quackgrass is a valued forage species on the diversified Frantzen farm. However, as the operation transitions into organic production, Tom is …
1997 Recap 1997 was my first year to grow certified organic corn. We compared the organic corn with conventionally grown corn, developing production budgets for each. Table 8. The conventional corn was planted April 28th on second-year corn ground …
The potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, is a key insect pest of alfalfa grown in the Midwest. Adult E. fabae migrate to Iowa from the southern United States in late April but do not cause economic damage to alfalfa …
A chief reason that producers discontinue strip intercropping is that they no longer experience the system’s yield benefits. That can happen when weeds, insects, or both build up to take advantage of the long borders between crops. In …
You can have the soil fertility just right, the right variety and perfect planting conditions, but the weeds can still sneak up and bite you. Lose a few plants to an early hailstorm or to greensnap – and …
